Collapsible supporting frame



June 2, 1953 F. w. COFFING COLLAPSIBLE SUPPORTING FRAME 4 Sheet s-Sheet1 Filed May 12, 1949 INVENTOR. flip/wax 14f (WW/v6.

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June 1953 F. w. COFFING 2,540,534

COLLAPSIBLE SUPPORTING FRAME Filed May 12, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Qa aEl: 3 hg I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I l I I I I I I I JINVENTOR.

June 2, 1953 F. w. COFFING COLLAPSIBLE SUPPORTING FRAME 4 Sheets-Sheet 3Filed May 12 INVENTOR. FPcDR/c/r l4. ('off/msr June 2, 1953 F. w.COFFING COLLAPSIBLE SUPPORTING FRAME 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 12, 1949Patented June 2, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE coLLAPsIBLE.SUPPORTING FRAME Fredrick W.,C.0'ffing,-D,anville;.1fl.

Application May 12, 1949, Serial No. 92.;844-

3-Claimsi I This invention relates to a collapsible framesupportapplicable to various uses as in a. col1apsible shed and mooring devicefor boats,-a collaps ible awning for windows and doors, collapsiblegarage doors and like structures wherein it is desired to cause theframe of the structure to jackknife on itself from an extended positionto an upright collapsed position. v

It is the, object of the invention to provide such a frame support andstructure which may be readily moved between its collapsed and extendedpositions through pull of an actuating cablejand assisted by biasingmeans such as. tension springs or gravity weights.

The above is accomplished, and a feature of the invention resides in aseries of articulated frame members and associated braces pivotallymounted on a suitable support and provided with intere'ngaging pulleymounted cables and biasing means, all as hereinafter more fully setforth and described.

The full nature of the invention will be understood. from theaccompanying drawings and the following. description and claims:

view of a portion of a wharf o-r pier towhich the base portion of themooring device is secured and upon which the moving structure issupported, the latter-being of the covered type. and having a tideaccommodating arrangement associated witha boat, the latter also beingshown in elevation.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational-view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. 1 showing a garage door embodiment ofthe invention and the door portions proper being shown in section.

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Figs. 1 and 3 and of a canopy-or awningembodiment of the invention, the cover portion of the awning being shownin section.

In Figs. 1, 3: and 4, dotted lines? indicate the jack-kni'fed orcollapsed positions of the frame support embodying the invention.

Fig. 5-i'sa front elevational view of the framed opening shown in Fig.4' with the cable system applied thereto and'the-other awningpartsomittd.

In Figs; 1 and 2 of the drawings, indicates generally a portion of adock or pier to which is suitably secured as at H a pair of paralleluprights or standards l2. Rotatably supported by one of them is theshaft (3 which mounts a drum M" to which one end or dual cable I issecured.

' The handle. I 6; is arranged. for shaft and drum rotation. A ratchetIT is fastened to the handle" 2 it. A pawl i8,- ivoted upon thatstandard-t2 adjacent theratchet; is. arranged toprevent retrograderatchet movement, in other words, cabie' ay out.

Th'eother cable 1551 passes: upwardly over pulley 9-, see Figs. and 2.and thence across to. corre= spending pulley 9 on the other standard l2and thence downwardly to a pulley 8,v see Fig. 2', that is atthe-eievdtioaot drum M. I

Abovothedrum and: below top of the standard there pivotahy supported atla upon eaoh standard a'iigid" brace-member 20; Near the top of eaohstandard and upon it there is=pivota11y su ported at 2W anarm or framemember 2|. A econd arm: oi 'f-i ai'ne member 22 as one end relativelytree and the other end is pivoted at 24' t the adjacent end of the 21-.The other end of the brace member 20 ispivoted at 25 to the Herein aspring 26 has one end" secured at 2.1 to bra-Ce member zuadgiaoefit it"spivotal support m; The other end of the spring 26 is secured atzs beyondpivots" 24 s e z'suhohthe arm 22. A pulley 29" isdinoiintd coincidentwith the hinge In the drawings: Fig 1 is an end elevational. 24; and thecable I5, or [5 some casemay'be,

passes over pulley and thence downwardly as at 30 and operativeconnection at 3| toth brace member 20;

$ince this" embodim nt of the invention ifieludes a tideaccommodatingfeature, the operative ooimeotionsl is shown as a puney andthe cable 3-0 is extended as at-BZ and passes around pulley 33 moui'iteadjacent the pivotalconned tionibetweenarm 2 2 and'brace 20, I

cable thehhasa portion '34 extended gem orally in the direction of thebrace member 20 to pass over pulley 3 5 and thence back to pulley toimmediately ntiguous to pulley 33' and thence downwardly as at 31- forconnection eat-3a to t he boat 39.

Pulley is in effect a floating pulley because one end of. a spring 40-,to accommodate th rise and; fall of tide where a mooring device is used,is, connected to said pulle 35' at one end and its accommodate thismovement, extending as the boat 39 lowers with the tide and contractingas the boat rises with the tide. In all instances, however, the tensionof the cable I5 passing over the pulley 24 will maintain the parts intheir extended position against the bias of the spring 26.

Fig. 2 shows the two standards I2 and the duplicate structurespreviously described. It will be apparent that when it is desired toprotect the boat from the sun or from the rain, light metal or canvas 42and 43 may be applied to a portion of the arms 22 and the two braces 20,the covering 43, see Fig. 1, on the brace members, however, beingslotted as at 44 to permit the run 30 of the cable to pass to and fromthe pulley 3|.

When the apparatus is not in use as a boat anchorage or mooring, the endof the line 31 may be secured to the brace member 20 in any suitablemanner, just so the securing is fixed, and under these circumstances byunwinding the cable I 5 from drum 40 to relieve the cable tension at thepivotal connection at 24, the spring 26 will draw the frame member 22downwardly and inwardly causing it to collapse and force the pivotalconnection upwardly to the position shown in dotted lines, swinging theframe member 2| upwardly with it.

Reference will now be had to Fig. 3 wherein the invention is illustratedas embodied in a socalled overhead door for garages and the like, thedotted lines, as stated, indicating the jack-knifed, collapsed overheadposition of the parts.

In Fig. 3, 45 indicates the side of a door opening of a garage, etc., 46indicates an overhead support member, 41 indicates a tube that may beprovided if desired to receive and house a weight 48 connected to oneend of a cable 49. This cable passes over pulleys 50 and 5|, each ofwhich is supported by the overhead member 46. The other end of the cable49 is connected as at 52 to a frame of the lower door section member 53near the bottom thereof as shown. This frame member and one at the otherside of the opening supports a lower panel portion 54 of the door.

Pivotally supported at 55 on the overhead member 46 is another framemember 51 of the upper door section and the longitudinally alignablemembers 53 and 51 are hingedly connected together as at 58 and areadapted to break outwardly so that these portions of the door can becollapsed or jack-knifed into an overhead position. The upper panelportion 59 of the door is carried at opposite ends by the two framemembers 51. A rigid brace member 59 is pivotally supported at 60 uponthe overhead support 46 and at its otherend is pivotally connected at 6Ito the frame member 53.

Associated with the hinge 58 is a pulley 62 and a cable 63 passes overthe same and the run 64 thereof is secured to the brace member 59 as at65. This cable branches at 66 into lines 61 and 68. The branch 6! passesupwardly and over a depending pulley 69 and terminates in a hand gripI0. The branch 68 passes upwardly and about pulley H to the pulley I2and thence downwardly and terminates in the hand grip I3 out-' side theopening to be closed.

If desired or required, the frame member 53 may have mounted thereon adoor lock I4 of any suitable description that is suitably associatedwith a catch portion provided in or upon the door opening defining framemember 45 for the purpose of latching the door shut.

Herein, as before, there is illustrated a brace and a frame member, 59and 51, each pivotally supported in spaced relation to each other attheir remote ends. Associated therewith is the frame member 53 that haspivotal connection with the other end of the brace member 59 and pivotalconnection at one end with the adjacent end of the frame member 51.

The biasing means 4849, herein primarily a weight, is connected to theframe member 53 remote from both pivotal connections 58 and 6|. Themanually operable cable 6'I6863 is associated with a pulley 62substantially coincident with the hinge connection 58 and is in thisinstance fixedly terminated at 65 upon the brace member 59 as shown.When the handle I0 is pulled down by one inside of the garage or thehandle 13 is pulled down by a person outside of the garage the door isclosed. Normally the door will remain closed after having been pulledclosed by the operation of the handle or hand loops I0 or iii due to thefact that the pivot point 58 is slightly past dead center. If now aslight push is given to the right, looking at Fig. 3, to move this pivotpoint past dead center the bias of the weight 48 acting through thecable 49 on the lowerpanel of the door will rock the lower panel of thedoor on the pivot point 6| outwardly causing the parts to jacknife ordouble upon themselves and eventually assume the position illustrated bydotted lines in Fig. 3.

The basic structural elements of this embodiment of the invention so fardescribed are substantially the same as those previously describedv forthe davit embodiment of the invention. Herein, however, as the lowerpanel 54 of the door moves up, since it swings inwardly in a clockwisedirection, the free end of the door bottom would tend to strike theautomobile bumper, etc., and in door lowering would tend to strike thetrunk, etc. Therefore, the lower end of the door is articulated. As thedoor breaks to open, the lowest end folds outwardly and reversely, andin final lowering this door extension straightens out.

To each frame member 53, at its free end, is pivoted a bar IM and thesebars are connected to and support a bottom door section I02. Betweenpivots 58 and BI is a pulley I03 carried by frame member 53. A cable I04has one end anchored at I05 to brace member 59* and passes over pulleyI03 and then extends as at I06 to the bar IOI. Here it engages ofisetI0! and then is anchored to said bar IOI at 108. Another cable I09 isconnected at opposite ends to brace member 59 at I05 and bar IOI at I05A stop I09 carried by the free end of frame member 53 is adapted to beengaged by stop I I0 carried by the adjacent end of the bar IOI.

Now as the two upper door sections break outwardly at the pivot 53, thebrace 59 moves upwardly and pulley I03 moves away from anchor I05causing bar I0! to move outwardly and swing counter-clockwise until itlies adjacent frame members 5354 when in overhead position. The

cable I04, I06 passing over pulley I03 jackknifes the bar "II to theposition shown in dotted lines of Fig. 3 when the frame members arecollapsed upwardly to the position shown by said dotted lines. When thedoor is unfolded to its closing position as shown in full lines, thecable I09 swings the bar IOI into its downwardly aligned positionthrough its fixed connection at I05 and until the stop H0 engages stopI09. This action results from a downward swinging movement of the bracemember 59 from its upward collapsed dotted position to its downward fullline position. The result is: more car-door clearance which is required:by" reason ofth'is reverse: hinging. The: action described: facilitatesthe initial. breaking: action indoor opening andfinall alignment of doorsections in; door closing.

' Reference will now behad to Figs. 4 and 51 wherein: one of thesimplest: forms of the: invention is illustrated and hereirr'theutilitarian embodiment is of the canopy or awning type. In this form theextension feature is again utilized for the awning may be over a trailerdoor and thus clearance is. effected relative: to. trailer. dooropening, etc.,.when .theawning isup.

In Figs. 4 and 5, indicates a building structure having a Window or doorframe '16. 'Bivotally supportedat each side by the upper-portion of saidframe at H. are thearms or frame memhers-'18. Also pivotally supportedtherebeneath, at E9, is one end ofthe bracemembers 80." These two-pairsof pivotal supports are spaced apart, see Figs. 4 and 5.

. Each arm or frame members 81 is pivotally connected at one end as at82 to the adjacent end of the arm 18. The other end of the cooperatingbrace member 80 is pivotally connected at 83 to the arm 8|. An elongatedspring 84 is connected at 85 to the brace member adjacent the pivot 19.The other end of said spring is connected at 85 to the arm 8! remotefrom the pivotal connections 82 and 83 aforesaid. A cable 81 passes overa pulley 88 substantially coincident with the pivotal axis 82 and thedownwardly directed run 89 thereof is connected at 90 to the bracemember 8!) remote from the ends of said member and at such a distancefrom the ivotal axis 83 that the run 89 is approximately vertical. Thecable 87 passes over a pulley 9| carried by the frame 16 and may beanchored as at 92.

It will be recalled in Figs. 1 and 2 a common cable system is utilized.In Fig. 5 cable 81 includes a branch 8'! that passes upwardly to pulley95, then over the same to pulley 96 and downwardly to pulley 9W disposedoppositely relative to pulley 9|. This cable then is extended upwardly,etc., all as previously described for cable 31 except it is at theopposite side of the framed opening.

Preferably when the awning serves as a door shade the pulleys 95 and 96are disposed at an elevation to permit door clearance if the door opensoutwardly. Also to insure clearance for such door opening the free endof the awning may be arranged to fold back in substantially the samemanner and by the same means as the bar [iii of the bottom section ofthe door, see Fig. 3, is folded when disposed in elevated position.

The action of the structure illustrated in Fig. 4 is substantially thesame as the action of the parts illustrated in Fig. 1 when the mooringline 31 is disconnected from the boat and fixedly attached to the arm20.

In other words so long as the cable 81 is secured as at 92, the cablewill hold the arms 93 and 94 against buckling under the bias of thespring 84. As soon, however, as the cable 81 is released this anchoragewill be released and with the spring exerting a pulling effect on theend of the arm 9 1 this arm will be caused to rock at the pivot point83, breaking at the pivot point 82 and the parts will jackknife into theposition illustrated in the dotted lines.

Also as shown in Fig. 4 the awning is provided with an extensioncomprised of a pair of bars or frameimemberslll:withbridging.cover2t2."This extension is; pivoted at 2l3; upon. the outer: ends of: bars: 81..

Bar 211 adjacent the. pivot includes: lug 214 adapted; to: engage: stop2.15 carried-bybar 81 near its end. This limits clockwise movement ofbar 2H1 Bar 8.! at 21 6 mounts pulley 211. A cable 218, is: anchored at2 l.9 :to: brace member 80,. passes over-pulley 2 t1: and thence overoffsetportion 22c. and-is anchored at 221 on bar 21 l. Another cableZZZ-is anchored at oppositeends to frame member as and bar 2H at 219 and223' respectively.

Operation of this extension: is identical tothat.

shown in- 3 and is provided for clearance as suggested hereinbefore.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in great detailinthe drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be consideredas illustrative and not restrictive in character.

The several modifications described herein as Well as others which willreadily suggest themselves to persons skilled in this art, all areconsidered to be within the broad scope of the invention, referencebeing had to the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:

1. In combination, a pair of collapsible frame members hingedlyconnected together at adjacent ends for substantial longitudinalalignment or jaclrknifing collapsed disposition, a support for saidmembers, one of said members having its other end pivoted to saidsupport in a fixed position, the other said member having a free end, arigid brace having one end pivoted on said support at a second fixedposition in spaced relation to the first mentioned fixed position andits other end pivoted to the said other member between the ends thereof,a, control cable having one end connected to said brace and movablysupported at the pivot between adjacent ends of said frame members, saidcable being directed therefrom toward the second mentioned fixedposition, and biasing means connecting the said other frame memberbetween its ends with said brace and tending to urge the outer endportion of said other frame member toward said brace and said secondfixed position.

2. A pair of collapsible frame members hingedly connected together atadjacent ends for substantial longitudinal alignment or jackknifing intocollapsed disposition, a support for said members, one of said membershaving its other end pivoted to said support in a fixed position, theother said member having its opposite end pivotally connected to anextension bar, a rigid brace having one end pivoted on said support at asecond fixed position in spaced relation to the first fixed position andits other end pivoted to the said other member between the ends thereof,a cable mounting pulley secured to the hinged connection between saidframe members, a second pulley mounted on said support adjacent saidsecond fixed position of said brace, a control cable passing over saidpulleys having one end connected to said brace adjacent its pivotalconnection with the said other member and its other end positioned formanual operation, and biasing means connecting the said other framemember between its ends with said brace and tending to urge it towardcollapsed position about its pivoted connection therewith.

3. A pair of collapsible frame members hingedly connected together atadjacent ends for substantial longitudinal alignment or jackknifing intocollapsed disposition, a support for said members, one of said membershaving its other end pivoted to said support in a fixed position, theother said member having its opposite end pivotally connected to anextension bar, a rigid brace having one end pivoted on said support at asecond fixed position in spaced relation to the first fixed position andits other end pivoted to the said other member between the ends thereof,a cable mounting pulley secured to the hinged connection between saidframe members, a second pulley mounted on said support adjacent saidsecond fixed position of said brace, a control cable passing over saidpulleys having one end connected to said brace adjacent its pivotalconnection with the said other member and its other end positioned formanual operation, biasing means connecting the said other frame memberbetween its ends with said brace and tending to urge the outer endportion of said other frame member toward said brace and said secondfixed position, a third pulley on said other frame member, a cableconnected to said brace adjacent said other frame member extending oversaid third pulley and having its other end connected to said extensionbar, and a third cable similarly connected to said brace and havingdirect connection with said extension bar.

FREDRICK W. COFFING.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,937,730 Triller Dec. 5, 1933 2,121,395 a Cooper June 21,1938 2,259,903 McCarthy Oct. 21, 1941 2,334,749 Burr Nov. 23, 19432,440,972 Peltier May 4, 1948 2,523,929 Taylor Sept. 26, 1950 2,550,913Cofiing May 1, 1951

